The present invention relates to a fender support system including carbon fiber SMC.
It is believed that a primary objective of the automotive industry is to develop new technologies to maximize vehicle performance, while maintaining low vehicle mass.
Compression Molded Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) or Kevlar, for example, allows much greater design flexibility than previous automotive applications of carbon fiber (i.e., hand lay-up, vacuum-bag composites). While it is believed that carbon fiber SMCs have been commercially available for 16 years, the application of these materials in the automotive industry has been slow to develop, due to the high cost of carbon fibers and the general lack of understanding concerning the characteristics of carbon fiber composites.
However, recent developments have reduced the costs associated with producing carbon fiber SMCs, and programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy are exploring methods to fundamentally change the production of carbon fibers for purposes of further reducing costs. Work within the Automotive Composites Consortium and studies at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are providing a better understanding of the performance and durability characteristics of commercial grade composites containing carbon fibers.
Carbon fiber SMC is compounded and molded in a manner similar to conventional structural-grade glass fiber SMC, for example, carbon fiber SMC materials produced by Quantum Composites in Bay City, Mich. AMC(trademark)-8590, for example, is a toughened vinyl ester resin with a 25 mm random chopped 12 K PAN based carbon fiber tows. AMC(trademark)-8595 contains a continuous, unidirectional cross-stitched mat with a similar 12 K carbon fibers and a similar toughened vinyl ester matrix as AMC(trademark)-8590.
Advantages of carbon fibers in SMC include higher modulus and lower specific gravity relative to glass fibers. The modulus of commercial-grade carbon fibers is approximately 230 GPa, which is more than three times higher than E-glass fibers. In addition, the 1.8 specific gravity of carbon fibers is about 70% of the specific gravity of glass fibers.
Until now, it is believed that under-the-hood and external attachment arrangements for vehicle components were designed as separate parts, which were subsequently fixedly joined, for example, by welding, rivets, screws, etc. These under-the-hood and external attachment arrangements may include separate attachments for a hood hinge, a washer hose, a security switch, a cooling pressure bottle, a splash shield, a washer bottle, an oil line, a coolant line, an oil cooler, a radiator, a hood slam pad, a belly pan, a wiring harness, a brake cooling duct, a fog lamp access cover, an engine controller, a fuel purge solenoid, a clutch fluid reservoir, a power center and fuse panel, a hood prop stud, a hood side bumper, a headlamp, a front fascia, a hood, a fender, a side sill, and/or a cowl screen.
Providing under-the-hood and external attachment arrangements in this manner, however, may be very expensive and time consuming.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fender support system, including at least one molded fender support arrangement configured to couple to at least one fender arrangement; wherein the fender support includes carbon fiber SMC.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement includes at least one headlight support arrangement.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the headlight support arrangement includes carbon fiber SMC.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement includes at least one fender-to-sill bracket.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender-to-sill bracket includes carbon fiber SMC.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the molded fender support arrangement includes at least one fender support, at least one headlight support, and at least one fender-to-sill support, each of the fender support, the headlight support, and the fender-to-sill support being molded as a single carbon fiber SMC part.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, further including a chassis interface arrangement configured to couple the fender support arrangement to a vehicle body.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement includes a dash interface arrangement and a frame interface arrangement.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement is configured to provide at least one of primary and secondary attachments for under-the-hood vehicle components.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the under-the-hood vehicle components include at least one of a hood hinge, a washer hose, a security switch, a cooling pressure bottle, a splash shield, a washer bottle, an oil line, a coolant line, an oil cooler, a radiator, a hood slam pad, a belly pan, a wiring harness, a brake cooling duct, a fog lamp access cover, an engine controller, a fuel purge solenoid, a clutch fluid reservoir, a power center and fuse panel, a hood prop stud, and a hood side bumper.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement is configured to provide at least one of primary and secondary attachments for external components.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the external components include at least one of a headlamp, a front fascia, a hood, a fender, a side sill, and a cowl screen.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the fender support system described above, in which the fender support arrangement is molded entirely from carbon fiber SMC.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle, including a fender support system including at least one molded fender support arrangement configured to couple to at least one fender arrangement, the fender support including carbon fiber SMC; and a vehicle body coupled to the fender support system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the vehicle described above, in which the fender support arrangement includes at least one headlight support arrangement.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the vehicle described above, in which the headlight support arrangement includes carbon fiber SMC.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the vehicle described above, in which the fender support arrangement includes at least one fender-to-sill bracket.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the vehicle described above, in which the fender-to-sill bracket includes carbon fiber SMC.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the vehicle described above, in which the molded fender support arrangement includes at least one fender support, at least one headlight support, and at least one fender-to-sill support, each of the fender support, the headlight support, and the fender-to-sill support being molded as a single carbon fiber SMC part.